Magazines

FOR THOSE of you opening this month’s magazine expecting to see Jane Ellison on this page, I apologise. The health minister was due to guest edit this month but due to the Ebola issue, events took over and it didn’t quite happen. However, she has penned two articles for this special issue on health and…

I HAVE WRITTEN my fair share of articles on packaging, but the subject rarely fails to interest me – or many of my colleagues in the mainstream press. Packaging, from plastic bags to tin cans and vegetable film to compostable cups, is often in the news. And often under attack. There is one example that…

THE HANGOVERS have hopefully cleared after another hugely successful awards night last month. It’s an initiative that has set Footprint apart and rewarded those who are not just making headway on a variety of social, ethical and environmental issues, but are blazing a trail. I was unfortunately unable to attend this year (contrary to rumours…

AT 2,600 pages it’s hardly surprising that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change took three years to compile its latest report. My concern is whether anyone will spend the next three years reading it. The report – officially titled “Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability” – is a catalogue of horrible things that could…

BONJOUR, BONJOUR. This month I’m writing my column from France. More specifically: the south of France. Where the skies are clear and the air is warm. More specifically still: sitting in a café (outside), in a T-shirt, with a croissant. I could get used to this. C’est la vie. I’ve just been flicking through a…

JUST BEFORE Christmas Julie Wilson opened the 900th JD Wetherspoon pub – the Poulton Elk in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire. It didn’t get much press. That was reserved for the Hope and Champion, managed by Steve Baldwin 224 miles away in Beaconsfield, a month later. Julie’s might have been the numerical milestone, but Steve’s marked the social…

AS THE HANGOVERS subside and the world begins refocusing on life in 2014, what will be on the (foggy) minds of those involved in sustainability? Health for one (and not just your own, following the probable festive excesses). The Public Health Responsibility Deal enters its third year and many will be asking for signs of…

I ADMIT IT. I’m the kind of guy that’ll pick up a book based on its cover. Sometimes it works: “The Princess Bride”; “Life of Pi”. Sometimes not: “Naked Lunch”; “Leaving Tabasco”. But the fact is that I’ll always read the back cover to gauge what might be inside. I do the same with food…

THOUGHT YOU were just getting to know how your customers felt about sustainability? Then think again. In this issue we’ve pulled together three of the latest pieces of consumer research in the dining out market. The studies by Mintel, Horizons and the Sustainable Restaurant Association each make for fascinating reading, but taken together what do…

IN AN ERA of austerity it’s not always easy to square sustainable ambition with commercial reality. But it’s possible, as the likes of Unilever are trying to prove. And that’s why we introduced Footprint – the magazine, the forums, the awards and the website. In the past five years or so, we have focused on…